1. Race and Ethnicity as Lived Experience
Chapter 9
Race and Ethnicity as Lived Experience

2. Defining Race and Ethnicity
Race is a socially defined category, based on real or perceived biological differences between groups of people. Ethnicity is a socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or another cultural factor.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

3. Defining Race and Ethnicity (cont’d)
Sociologists see race and ethnicity as social constructions because they are not rooted in biological differences, they change over time, and they never have firm boundaries.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

5. Defining Race and Ethnicity (cont’d)
The distinction between race and ethnicity is important because ethnicity can be displayed or hidden, depending on individual preferences, while racial identities are always on display.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

6. Defining Race and Ethnicity (cont’d)
Symbolic ethnicity is an ethnic identity that is only relevant on specific occasions and does not significantly impact everyday life.
Situational ethnicity is an ethnic identity that can be either displayed or concealed depending on its usefulness in a given situation.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

7. What Is a Minority?
A minority group is made up of members of a social group that is systematically denied the same access to power and resources available to the dominant groups of a society, but who are not necessarily fewer in number than the dominant group.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

8. What Is a Minority? (cont’d)
Unequal and unfair treatment typically generates a strong sense of common identity and solidarity among members of minority groups.
The Real World
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9. Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Racism refers to a set of beliefs about the superiority of one racial or ethnic group, is used to justify inequality, and is often rooted in the assumption that differences between groups are genetic.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

10. Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination (cont’d)
Prejudice is an idea about the characteristics of a group that is applied to all members of that group and is unlikely to change regardless of the evidence against it.
Discrimination is usually motivated by prejudice and refers to the unequal treatment of individuals because of their social group.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

11. Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination (cont’d)
Individual discrimination is discrimination carried out by one person against another.
Institutional discrimination is discrimination carried out systematically by social institutions (political, economic, educational, and others) that affect all members of a group who come into contact with it.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

12. Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Race in America
Functionalist theorists focus on the ways that race creates social ties and strengthens group bonds, though they also acknowledge that such ties can lead to violence and social conflict.
The Real World
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13. Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Race in America (cont’d)
Conflict theory focuses on the struggle for power and control over scarce resources. Early conflict theorists tried to explain race as a result of economic oppression.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

14. Race as an Interactional Accomplishment
Symbolic Interactionists focus on the ways that race, class, and gender intersect to produce an individual’s identity. They see race as an aspect of identity established through interaction. There are several different ways that we project and receive our racial and ethnic identities.
The Real World
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15. Race as an Interactional Accomplishment (Cont’d)
Racial passing, or living as if one is a member of a different racial category, has a long history in the United States.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

16. Race as an Interactional Accomplishment (Cont’d)
The way that we are perceived in the physical world, our embodied identity, historically has been used as a basis for discrimination. This issue becomes particularly interesting today as we examine online communication, where our physical traits often remain hidden from those with whom we interact.
The Real World
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17. Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances
Race and ethnicity influence all aspects of our lives, including health, education, work, family, and interactions with the criminal justice system.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

18. Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)
Health care is an area in which we find widespread disparity between racial and ethnic groups. Disparities in access to health care may help explain the life expectancy rates for men and women of different races.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

20. Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)
In U.S. education, the highest high school dropout rates are associated with those from economically disadvantaged and non-English-speaking backgrounds.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

22. Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)
Inequality can also be seen in the workplace and in income distribution. People of color, who are less likely to achieve high levels of education, are more likely to have lower-paying jobs.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

23. Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)
In 2004, the median income for whites was $34,164, for Asian Americans $36,816, for African Americans $27,300, and for Hispanics $23,712.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

24. Race, Ethnicity, and Life Chances (cont’d)
Finally, non-whites are more likely to interact with law enforcement. African Americans and Hispanics are much more likely to go to prison than whites. African Americans are also far more likely to be murdered than whites. Also, more than two-thirds of racially motivated hate crimes in 2003 targeted blacks.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

25. Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation
Interactions between dominant and subordinate groups can take many different forms. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a racial, ethnic, national, or cultural group. The treatment of Native Americans is an example of population transfer, the forcible removal of a group of people from the territory they have occupied.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

26. Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation (cont’d)
Internal colonialism is the economic and political domination and subjugation of the minority group by the controlling group within a nation.
Segregation is the formal and legal separation of groups by race or ethnicity.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

27. Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation (cont’d)
Assimilation is a pattern of relations between ethnic or racial groups in which the minority group is absorbed into the mainstream or dominant group, making society more homogeneous. Racial assimilation is the process by which racial minority groups are absorbed into the dominant group through intermarriage.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

28. Race Relations: Conflict or Cooperation (cont’d)
Cultural assimilation is the process by which racial or ethnic groups are absorbed into the dominant group by adopting the dominant group’s culture. Finally, pluralism (or multiculturalism) is a pattern of inter-group relations that encourage racial and ethnic variation within a society.
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

29. Concept Quiz:
1. A socially defined category based on common language, religion, nationality, history, or another cultural factor is called:
a. ethnicity.
b. symbolic ethnicity.
c. symbolic race.
d. race.
ANS: A REF Defining Race and Ethnicity, p. 231 OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

30. Concept Quiz:
2. The unequal treatment of individuals because of their social group is called:
a. racism.
b. discrimination.
c. prejudice.
d. institutional racism.
ANS: B REF: Racism, Prejudice, and Discrimination, p. 234 OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

31. Concept Quiz:
3. Light-skinned African Americans who attempt to live as white in order to avoid the consequences of being black in a racist society are practicing:
a. racial passing.
b. social fraud.
c. ethnic cleansing.
d. symbolic racism.
ANS: A REF: Passing, p. 237 OBJ: Conceptual
The Real World
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32. Concept Quiz:
4. In the early nineteenth century, the U.S. government forced Native Americans to move onto reservations. This is an example of:
a. population transfer.
b. assimilation.
c. pluralism.
d. genocide.
ANS: A REF: Population Transfer, p. 245 OBJ: Conceptual
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

33. Concept Quiz:
5. The pattern of intergroup relations that encourages racial and ethnic variation within a society is called:
a. pluralism.
b. segregation.
c. population transfer.
d. assimilation.
ANS: A REF: Pluralism (Multiculturalism), p. 247 OBJ: Vocabulary
The Real World
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.